Hike a trail of course!
No, I'm not crazy, I'm a Colorado resident, and that's what we do...apparently. When the going gets tough, the tough climb a mountain!...and realize whatever they were doing before wasn't tough AT ALL.
Luckily, this trail promised to end in a waterfall, so if we all ended up over heated, there was always the option of jumping in some freezing mountain stream. Bonus.
The trail we (me, Sarafia, Megan, and Megan's dog!) picked is called Horsethief Trail, and the falls appropriately matched as Horsethief Falls. The trailhead was up in the mountains, about a 40 minute drive away. By the time we got there, it had dropped at least 20 degrees, making it perfect hiking weather. Hooray for altitude!
We parked and got out in front of this huge tunnel. What a cool trailhead!! ...But it wasn't the trailhead. Aw.
THIS is the trailhead. Looks much more like...well...like a trailhead. Dirt, gravel, and uphill. In fact, the first half of this trail was mostly uphill. Boo for altitude. :)
I liked Megan's dog. She's an Australian Sheppard, full of energy and goes directly to water wherever she finds it. We got along great. :) 
After hiking through the rain, the sun, thunder, trees, hills, campsites, an college survival classes (no joke), we found the falls at last. One part looked like a giant water slide...I was tempted, but the rocks at the bottom didn't look like they'd be much fun to land on. :) But if you know anything about me, you'll know that when I meet a waterfall, I will try my best to climb and conquer it.
Horsethief Falls was no exception. :)
As we left the trail the rain that had followed us began to move off into the distance. The clouds cleared, and we saw the beautiful silhouette of the Rocky Mountains to the northwest.
On the way back, Sarafia took us through a tiny old town called Cripple Creek. It once was a booming mining town, and now is full of Casinos and free range donkeys. Not even kidding, the donkeys walk freely around the town, so watch where you step. ;)
We ended our evening at an Italian restaurant by Megan's house in Manitou Springs, then retired back to her place to have some of Megan's fiance's homemade beer and some laughs. All in all, not a bad way to beat the heat!I had to include this picture because it was so flipping cute. One of my fellow Shift Supervisor's at Starbucks is quite handy at making little pictures in the foam made when we steam the milk for drinks. I asked for a hot chocolate to take on my break with me, and he handed me back this lovely piece of art-in-a-mug.
And look at it's staying power! The heart was still there even after I drank all the hot chocolate!
The title of this blog promised more than one Falls, and I shall deliver! After hearing about the adventure Abby and I went on behind Ute Falls, Sarafia wanted to see it for herself, so I went back with her one day before work. We walked the trail all along the creek up to the Falls, and did our best to stay dry. Here's one of my death defying jumps along the way. :)
And once we made it to the Falls in one piece, I decided the pictures behind the falls didn't do it justice, so I took a video of the journey behind Ute Falls. Enjoy!
There is also a video of the journey up to Horsethief Falls.
And here's Horsethief Falls!
And as a preview of what I'm sure will be many blogs to come about my adventures in Boulder for the show I'm in called Colorado Children with Imagination Makers Theatre Company, here is a video I took so I'd know what kind of shoes to look for to complete my costume. Of course they do provide the costumes, but of course it is very challenging to provide footwear for a 6'3 female with size 12 feet...to say the least, so they've asked me to search the resale shops for something suitable. In order to best match the styles the other actors will be wearing, I took a video of the pile of shoes to remember what they looked like. One of my fellow actors was kind enough to narrate it with me. :)
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